The bar muscle-up takes you from hanging under the pull-up bar to supported above it in one explosive movement - a violent kip, a pull that brings the hips to the bar, and a fast turnover into the press-out. It's generally learned before the ring muscle-up (the fixed bar is more stable) but demands a bigger pull, since there's no swinging the rings toward you. Since 2016 it has been an Open staple, making it one of the most competition-relevant skills an athlete can own.
| Level (Reps) | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| beginner | 0-1 | 0 |
| novice | 2-3 | 1-2 |
| intermediate | 5-7 | 3-5 |
| advanced | 10-13 | 7-10 |
| elite | 16+ | 13+ |
Max unbroken reps.
The secret is the hip drive, not the arms: a big arching kip that throws your hips toward the bar, then pull the bar to your waist as you sit over it. Keep the turnover fast and lean forward decisively - hesitating on top of the bar is the universal miss. Chicken-wing (one arm at a time) means the pull is ending too low: build more explosive hip contact first. Prerequisites: solid chest-to-bar pull-ups and straight-bar dips. Volume in small sets; bar muscle-up fatigue arrives suddenly.
Progression: chest-to-bar pull-ups, banded bar muscle-ups, jumping bar muscle-ups from a box, then the full skill. In WODs substitute 2 chest-to-bar + 2 dips per rep.
Log every result, see your progress over time, and know exactly where you stand.